The Golden State Warriors got another star to pair with Stephen Curry for the next 2 1/2 seasons by trading for Jimmy Butler on Wednesday, hours before the 2025 NBA trade deadline. But Butler wasn’t necessarily Golden State’s first choice. The Warriors had been known to be searching for help ahead of the deadline, and Golden State was reportedly in on every available star. Earlier this week, however, their focus was seemingly on one familiar name: Kevin Durant.
Yes, the current Phoenix Sun and future Hall of Famer who helped lead the Warriors to two championships, played three seasons with the team and left rather unceremoniously to join the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019. This current Warriors team is nowhere near as stacked as the squad Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder to join in 2016, but a reunion would’ve been intriguing.
But there was one major hang up: Durant got wind of a potential trade and made it known he didn’t want to go back and play for the Warriors. Durant and Curry reportedly even had a phone conversation in recent days that Curry left knowing a reunion was “extremely unlikely,” per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Thursday morning that a three-team deal was lined up between the Warriors, Suns and Miami Heat. In that version of a trade, Durant would’ve been sent to Golden State, while Butler would’ve landed in Phoenix. That would’ve gotten Butler what he originally wanted — to be in Phoenix — but Durant had no interest in going back to play for the Warriors, so Golden State pivoted.
It’s a seismic “what if” to think about for a number of reasons. Why would the Suns think they’re better off with Butler instead of Durant? And what would’ve a Durant-Warriors reunion produced? The sheer fact that Phoenix even entertained trading Durant is just the latest example of the wildness that has been this year’s trade deadline, highlighted by the still-stunning fact that the Dallas Mavericks traded 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
While the Suns could’ve still traded Durant anyway as he doesn’t possess a no-trade clause like his teammate Bradley Beal, who ultimately is the reason Phoenix isn’t the one photoshopping pictures of Butler in a Suns jersey, the Warriors didn’t want to take on what would’ve been a disgruntled Durant.
In the end, the Warriors got a second star, though likely not the one they really coveted as there were reported concerns from Curry and Steve Kerr about Butler’s fit in the locker room. But now Golden State will have the rest of the season to figure out how Curry and Butler fit together, and the next couple years as Butler signed a two-year, $111 million contract extension, lining up his deal with Curry and Draymond Green. It’s the surest sign that the Warriors are going all-in on trying to build a contender around Curry toward the end of his career, but time will tell if this was move puts them any closer to actually winning a championship.
